International coach Lorie Charbonneau continues an exercise/game she uses for encouraging skaters to efficiently work through all of their combination jumps. In Part 1, the game focused on double toe loop combinations. In this video, the game remains the same but the focus is on double loop combinations. The value in this videos isn’t so much the mechanics of the game itself, but Lorie’s teaching comments for one of the skaters and her comments about the purpose of the game.
On the first axel double loop attempt, Lorie explains that the skater is blocking with the right side (axis side) and she wants the skater to drop the right arm and then lift it through the take-off. It is common for skaters to slow or stop the movement of the axis-side arm during the take-off movements and pivot on double loop. As Lorie notes, some skaters “panic a little bit” and rather than lift up into the jump they neglect to finish the movement and pivot, and instead pull in early. She also notes that many skaters tend to lose their alignment on double loop combinations by allowing the upper body to drift to the non-axis side after initially landing the first jump but before pivoting into the second jump.
Lorie has the skater do a single single combo as a way to rehearse the correct take-off the double. Even on this, Lorie notes the shortened take-off. On the next double double attempt, the skater then creates a more open take-off with the axis side coming through properly, but doesn’t “pivot enough.” Lorie encourages using a pivot drill or the concept of the pivot drill to help ensure the skater pivots far enough while still on the ice.
Lorie is really looking for a one-foot landing, so initially she allows the second jump to be under-rotated for a short time. She also allows skaters to perform a three turn between the jumps, at least for a few days, as a way to build confidence in the one-foot landing with proper alignment. In other words, she will sometimes “give credit” in the game for these kinds of landings, depending on the overall status of the jump combo for that skater.
In terms of the game itself, Lorie explains that sometimes skaters will struggle for weeks with their jumps in the game. But by playing the game regularly, sheer repetition often comes into play to help master the combos. Lorie does not use this game as a way to “teach” combinations. She wants skaters to have some success with the combinations before trying the game. Instead, the purpose of the game is to quickly and efficiently (and hopefully enjoyably) work through the combinations and get more quality repetitions, as well as feel a sense of pressure to perform. Lorie says, “The reason we stop at two tries is we don’t want someone to get into a downward spiral of ‘I can’t do it.'” The purpose of the game is to build confidence, not destroy it. At the end, the skater did not successfully land a single double loop in combination, but as Lorie says, “She tried twelve that she probably would have avoided.”
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